Chrome passes Firefox for the first time

Google’s Chrome web browser has overtaken Firefox for the first time globally on a monthly basis in November, according to the latest statistics from analytics player StatCounter.

StatCounter Global Stats reports that Chrome took 25.69pc of the worldwide market (up from 4.66pc in November 2009) compared to Firefox’s 25.23pc.

Microsoft’s Internet Explorer still maintains a strong lead globally with 40.63pc.

“We can look forward to a fascinating battle between Microsoft and Google as the pace of growth of Chrome suggests that it will become a real rival to Internet Explorer globally,” explained Aodhan Cullen, CEO, StatCounter.

“Our stats measure actual browser usage, not downloads, so while Chrome has been highly effective in ensuring downloads our stats show that people are actually using it to access the web also.”

Internet Explorer maintains its market share

In the US, Internet Explorer continues to perform strongly and is maintaining market share at 50.66pc, up slightly from 50.24pc year-on-year.

Firefox retains second place on 20.09pc, down from 26.75pc. Chrome is up to 17.3pc from 10.89pc. Safari is on 10.76pc from 10.71pc.

In the UK, Internet Explorer also leads the market with 42.82pc. Chrome is on 24.82pc, having overtaken Firefox (20.56pc) in July.

StatCounter Global Stats are based on aggregate data collected on a sample exceeding 15bn page views per month (4bn from the US) from the StatCounter network of more than 3m websites.